Before you start

Language test results — IELTS General Training or CELPIP for English, TEF or TCF for French
An Educational Credential Assessment for qualifications earned outside Canada
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
Proof of settlement funds for some Express Entry programmes

Step-by-step

1
Create an Express Entry profile first, whatever else you do
It is free, it needs no employer, and it is the pool that a provincial nomination attaches to. Category-based draws targeting particular occupations and French-language ability regularly clear well below the general cut-off, so check the categories before concluding your score is too low.
OnlineWho: You
2
Read the current OINP page rather than any article about it
Ontario closed its previous nomination streams and the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream is now the only one open. Advice written before mid-2026 — including a great deal that still ranks well in search — names streams that have been withdrawn. Start from the province's own page and work outwards.
OnlineWho: You
3
Sit the language test and get credentials assessed early
The Educational Credential Assessment commonly takes months and both it and the language results expire. Start the assessment before the language test rather than after; the assessment is the long pole.
OnlineWho: YouLanguage results ~2 weeks; assessment commonly 6–14 weeks
4
Gather police certificates for every country you have lived in
One for each country you lived in for six months or more since turning 18, not merely the last one. This is the single most common reason a Canadian application stalls, because some issuing authorities take months.
OnlineWho: You
5
Apply for a Social Insurance Number in your first week
Free, from Service Canada, with your passport and permit. Applying in person at a Service Canada centre usually gets the number issued during the visit. No employer can run payroll without it, so this comes before the bank and before the health card.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
6
Apply for OHIP once you have proof of an Ontario address
Health coverage is provincial and the three-month waiting period was removed in 2020, so eligible residents are covered from enrolment. Bring one document from each of the three required categories to a ServiceOntario centre.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Language test results (IELTS/CELPIP, or TEF/TCF)
Educational Credential Assessment for foreign qualifications
Police certificates for each country lived in six months or more since age 18
Immigration medical exam from a panel physician
Proof of settlement funds, where the programme requires it
Job offer and employer documentation, if applying through the provincial stream

Things most newcomers don’t know

Ontario closed every one of its nomination streams in 2026 and replaced them with one.

The province withdrew its previous permanent-residence streams and launched the Ontario Workforce Priority stream in their place; the OINP's own page now states that all other streams are closed. This is the largest structural change the programme has ever made, and it stranded a very large body of published advice — consultants' pages, forum threads and news articles all still describe streams you can no longer apply to. If a source names a stream that is not on ontario.ca today, stop reading it.

Source: Ontario — Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program

A provincial nomination is worth 600 points, which is why the federal profile comes first.

The Comprehensive Ranking System tops out well below the score a nomination produces, so a nominated candidate is invited in the next relevant draw as a practical certainty. The nomination is not an alternative to Express Entry; for most people it is the thing that makes Express Entry work. Building the profile costs nothing and is the prerequisite for the rest.

Source: IRCC — Express Entry and provincial nominees

Nothing about this is specific to Mississauga, and treating GTA municipalities as different immigration jurisdictions wastes months.

Newcomers regularly ask whether it is easier to get nominated for Mississauga than for Toronto. Ontario nominates for Ontario. The city you settle in does not change your eligibility, your score or your processing time — it changes your rent and your commute. The only immigration reason to prefer one Canadian city over another is a genuinely provincial or regional programme, and inside the GTA there is not one.

Source: community-reported, consistently corroborated

Category-based draws are where a modest score becomes a real chance.

IRCC runs draws targeting specific occupation categories and French-language ability alongside the general ones, and those cut-offs are routinely far lower. People with scores in the low 400s write themselves off against a general cut-off and never check whether their occupation has its own category. It takes ten minutes and it is the highest-value ten minutes in the whole process.

Source: IRCC — Express Entry rounds of invitations

Common mistakes to avoid

Working from any OINP guidance written before mid-2026 — the streams it names have been closed.
Waiting for an employer to sponsor you instead of creating a free Express Entry profile.
Letting language results or the credential assessment expire while waiting for a draw.
Requesting only one police certificate when you have lived in three countries.
Assuming choosing Mississauga over Toronto changes anything about your immigration position.
Starting work before the Social Insurance Number is issued and delaying your own first pay.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

Make it your personal checklist

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